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First of all, let me set the context on how important & busy as a person I’ve become in the recent past. So much so that I have to go on ‘short international business trips’ Ohh Emm Gee! #EpicLoserLevelUnlocked 😛

Yeahh so my brand got launched in Nepal market and I was asked to plan a 2 day trip to Kathmandu (khi khi khi dil mein laddoo phoota) And to plan it on a Thursday/ Friday (ek aur laddoo phoota!) Ofcourse I stayed over on Saturday and then booked myself back on Sunday so that my old person’s body/ mind / soul can get enough sleep and then can be dragged to office on Monday morning.

So that left me just a day to ‘kar le Kathmandu mutthhi mein’. Luckily enough one of my pragmatic yet well travelled friend had visited Kathmandu earlier and knew the exact 4-5 locations to see and Google baba came to the rescue for my last minute planning.

Here starts my one day guide to Kathmandu!

Thamel – First and last stop

Thamel is the place with night life in terms of pubs, restaurants, shops, tourists etc. in Kathmandu. That one particular area found in every city where travellers reside and make the hub. Unlike rest of Kathmandu which shuts down at 8pm, Thamel stays up and awake till wee hours for a lot of things which should be left unsaid.

Checked into a beautiful, awe-inspiring tiny little place in Thamel – Ambassador Garden Home ❤ Their rooms are small bt still don’t feel claustrophobic because of the warmth of the place emerging from all the wood work or even the amiable staff 🙂

Must try out their Nepali Masala Tea. Had atleast 5 cups in a day whenever and for whatever time I was there!

Ambassador Garden Home is THE cozy and cute lil place to stay at if you choose Thamel area. Just look at this garden restaurant.

2. Pahupatinath Temple

After keeping luggage in the room I took a local taxi and went straight to Pashupatinath Temple for the World Heritage Site claim.

It is one of the few structures which didn’t get affected much by the last earthquake in Nepal but hordes of people (or as they call themselves pilgrims) have ruined the place enough. It would have been a beautiful structure to admire if there weren’t 1000s of people trying to push their way through cutting queues or being impatient to get a one look at the ‘God’. In fact there was a price list board put up by the temple administration for various rites & rituals you would want to perform. 0_o

The same temple premise has rituals being carried for newly weds or new borns and the back side of the temple as lifeless bodies being cremated which in itself is thought provoking.

Felt like a black sheep at Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. People ruin places.

Gladly, didn’t spend more than 35-40 mins here that too because of the queues but go to this place when there is no festival around (which will be hard to plan of course) to admire the place

3. Bhaktapur!

This was my favourite place in Kathmandu! So much so that next time I will even stay here 😀 This one of the oldest districts and rightly so you can see that in it’s brick-lanes and old temple & Durbar Square structure or architecture =D

Durbar Square are areas found all over Nepal which were meeting or shopping or key areas for the Royal Family of Nepal. Lucky to have chosen Durbar Sqaure, Bhaktapur (credit to our Nepal team for suggestion 🙂 ) as against other Durbar Squares in Nepal.

This area being 100s of years old got affected the most by the earthquakes but the spirit & beauty is still alive. Food is still kickass! People are still friendly story-telling enthusiasts & ohh new age rock bands playing in the hidden pubs inside these old brick architectural amazement!

Would have loved to see it before the earthquake, loved visiting it now, will visit it after the restoration 🙂 Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nepal

5 stone temple at Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nepal – One wise owl told me that this was the biggest temple created to cut down on the powers of a super powerful God with an existing temple right across this one, who got out of control. Pehelwan at the bottom of the side statues is powerful but elephants on top of them are 10 times more powerful and then comes the tiger with 10 times more strength than the elephants but then the Garuda and the Goddess herself – most powerful evvvaaahhh!

This was taken from the top of the 5 stone temple 😀 Now that’s the place for a cup of coffee or Nepali masala chai – Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nepal with the sleeping Buddha hills in the background.

And then my love affair with food started ❤ sparks flew and their was this unapologetic incessant touch downs at nooks & corners of Bhaktapur for Nepali food! (May Freud help me)

That’s what the final served Bara-Wo dish looks like. Frankly, I had my reservations before tasting this savoury atta pancake but glad that I did & then overate a bit 😛 Ek baar jo humne commitment kar di toh hum khud ki bhi ni sunnte.

Another tinnnyy outlet at Bhaktapur, Nepal with just two tables to accommodate not more than 10 people sitting cramped up. All this that uncle makes is used as chakhna/ starters with beer or the local wine Chhang (which is yummy ki mummy!) Chakhna knows no boundaries for me now! Uncooked flattened rice, sauteed soya beans, uncooked meat (stop judging me for a second, it is chopped finely and then minced with hand so much so that the heat from all this friction makes it slightly warm & soft), buffalo fry and what not! Newari cuisine rocks!

I shappath didn’t have more than one small teenie little piece of this dish 😛 Again a Newari dish at Bhaktapur- bone marrow fat filled in goat intestines tied with a thread and then fried a little *my heart* but that intestine was crispy crunchy yummy! Fat was a tad too much for sure

4. Swayambhu Stupa

I did go there but wasn’t too kicked about it since I’ve had the pleasure of the view from the top of the stupa just outside Leh city in Ladakh. So go there for the Kathmandu city view in the evening and loads of harmless monkeys/ ancestors roaming around you peacefully and then let’s come back to Thamel for a night stroll in the quaint lanes 🙂

Have you dinner at Khatali restaurant on Durbar Marg, Kathamandu which is centrally located (not far off from Thamel) and fall in love with the ‘Mustang’ kaali daal or the mutton curry or even the simple yet powerful saag 🙂 psstt, get 1 kg of this kaali daal back as souvenir 😀

First meal of momos at Kathmandu with this view from the office terrace overlooking the king’s palace 😳 mekko rakh lo yahan!

A few helpful points to search and a keep note of before travelling alone to a new place:

Download offline maps in case you are not planning to buy a local SIM (I support you on this one since wi-fi can be found at almost all hotels & why else would you need a phone while travelling?! You! Yes you constantly on your phone) – Try maps.me app, has been helpful across various countries

Google the local taxi rates for places like Nepal where there is no other prevalent mode of transport. And then negotiate like an Asian! Be a man, DO THE RIGHT THING!

Always look at visitor images on tripadvisor or any other travel booking site for hotels and don’t just rely on the 4 star ratings/ reviews. Your gut feel about the homeliness of the place will always be stronger than well crafted review words.

Don’t be afraid of taking a stroll on your own. If you show confidence, you get confidence and then it just happens.

Lastly, It’s never too bad or boring to spend some time on your own at your own pace 🙂

I am unsure about a lot of things or atleast I don’t want to say a lot of things out loud to my own self. Sometimes it comes across as a commitment phobia too, no no I am not talking about the classic definition of relationships. I am talking about things like being scared of planning a holiday 1 month in advance or committing to meeting someone in a week’s time or even buying stuff for my house so that it starts feeling like my house. But one thing which I have been quite sure of for the longest time I can remember is that – I Love Bombay!

I keep on traveling to Bombay around once or twice in a month and it has started to appear like a clandestine affair with my beloved. The separation was getting unbearable and of course I needed a break to do things on my own or not do anything but still on my own. So this year when the time came to plan my 10 days holiday, one thing which I was quite sure of…

Ofcourse I walked and watched this city breathe for 10 days 🙂

Chor Bazaar, Off Mohammed Ali Road – The Island of Misfit Toys

This crowded little place made of 4-5 lanes of jam-paacked curio stores had me gaping for 3 hours and I couldn’t get enough of it!

You get everything here. Read EVERYTHING! From somebody’s 32 teeth neatly lined up in a showcase to a pendant made out of a baby deer’s foot, a family portrait dated back to 1960s to a classic piano stacked up in a dusty corner. That’s the beauty of this island of misfit toys.

Fork You! Chor Bazaar became my disneyland and with this I began my exploration of Mumbai 😀

Silence. Lights. Camera. Action. Found all this and more at Chor Bazaar.

In a shop filled with a trillion random things, found a plane touching a miniature of the Twin Towers and an astronaut clicking its picture :O talk about creepy coincidences! P.S. The owner had no idea about it either

Island of misfits – When random imperfections come together to create a world of wonder and enchantment

Har cheez bikti hai yahan, bas koi khareedne wala hona chahiye…

Yeah yeah… how could I be hungry all this while? This matar kind of thing gave me salty company 🙂 Still don’t know what is it called but guess I prefer this over peanuts anytime.

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…Play my music, let’s rock the boat. Main shayar toh nahi but Chor Bazaar did this to me!!!

This marked as the end of our walk and gladly so! Afghan Naan – That whiff of freshly baked bread in the old crowded lanes of chop bazaar mesmerised me over and I dream-walked to this shop to find a piece of gold. Afghan Naan baked to perfection.. And bang opposite this shop we found spicy mutton nihari curry to have our first meal of the day. Love is unpredictable! ❤

Afghan Church, Sassoon Dock

At the edge of the city is Sassoon Dock. Just after the hustle bustle of South Bombay you witness peace.

This is not your usual sun-kissed misty winter morning at a hill station. This my friend, is Mumbai at 4pm 🙂 Afghan Church backyard, Navy Nagar at the far end tip of Mumbai was a hauntingly serene spectacle.

Church of the Holy Name/ Holy Name Cathedral, South Bombay

I was lucky to be visiting during christmas time…

Holy story depicted on the colourful glass ceiling of the Holy Name Cathedral, South Bombay. There is much more to Bombay than just late nights on the glittering buzzy roads.

How I wished to be awed by this place. How I wished to learn more from this place. But all I saw was beauty with no explanation just sign boards telling me that these are properties of so and so and kept here just for display 😦

How will people know about the importance of the immaculate Indian architecture or its history when there is no effort to pass on the baton through simple tales?

Pains me to see such a beautiful thing at the Prince of Wales museum kept in a corner without an explanation or a story or audio guide reference. Divine light of Buddha at the centre of a mandap and its flower ceiling half seen in the mirror.

None of my trips are complete without eating at places which I have never tried before and here is an ode to the amazing variety of food in Mumbai *drrroool*

Japanese or Korean food hasn’t disappointed me till now and so it continues… Kofuku, Bandra, Mumbai had a menu that got us shamelessly greedy! Would need to go there once more to try out rest of the goodies. Japanese sautéed ginger pork, sticky rice, kofuku prawns curry, Korean style kimchi pork fried rice, shrimps dumplings and burrrpppp on the table 😀

Mumbai weather had become purrfect for an outside brunch and dayum was I lucky to be there at the right time B-) Pan seared basa with garlic risotto at Cafe Infinito, BKC. You can never go wrong with grilled or pan seared fish.

Pour as much as you want and dip in as much as you want – Cheese! 145 Lounge, Kala Ghoda on New Year’s eve 🙂

Ohh now that I am talking about New Year’s eve, that marks the end of my trip too…

Lights in a lane at Eddie’s Bistro, Bandra… This was one of the best new year night out to places with least amount of crowd, no loud music, no fighting our way to the bar for that one last drink, getting places to sit in comfort, chat and laugh and such beautiful ambience…

Dear Mumbai

I am in Love…

Yours Truly

P.S. I am not done with Bombay yet so if you know about other such hidden gems of the city, please do let me know. Gracias!

You will realise soon why I treaasure this walk so much, I still believe in fairytales…

It was drizzling slightly or was just the early morning dew that I remember. Reaching the almost deserted station at 9am didn’t seem to be a good idea that time but I took out my pre-downloaded offline map and started walking towards the 2kms away Tourist centre for tickets to the Palace & some much needed directions. That is when the sun came out 🙂

Walk on the almost empty roads of Amboise, France on a lucky sunny day.

Bought my ticket to Château d’Amboise , a royal residence of France and walked along the unopened doors of beautiful little houses and the vacant space of the tiny town market place. One of things which works best if you are going to such places alone is your audio tour-guide cum companion who knows so much! Doesn’t mind getting interrupted and shut off from time to time as per your mood. Doesn’t even get irritated while you put him to task by repeating the same information over and over again. 😉 If only you were real… sigh…

So yeah, I took my audio guide and entered the dream come true palace/ Chateau of Amboise where the Prince had invited Leonardo Da Vinci and from then on Leonardo started staying just 500ms away from the palace at Clos Lucé, manor house.

Château d’Amboise – In search of my prince 😛

When the knight in shining armour comes at your doorsteps (P.S. – I am not as delusional as I might sound)

Resting quietly away from the world, he gave so much to – Leonardo Da Vinci’s Tomb at Chateau d’ Amboise

Time when it was almost too much for me to take in so much of tranquility and beauty at once.. this is when I realised that I was missing out on something valuable. Traveling solo.

After building way too many dreams in my head I walked down the road which led me to Leonardo Da Vinci’s manor – Clos Lucé, which is apparently connected to the Chateau by an underground passage.

This genius had invented the first auto-rotable tank, automatic multi-fire guns, motorbike, helicopter and what not and had a kick-ass kitchen to top it all 😀

Studying about anatomy of a horse was never so hauntingly intriguing – Da Vinci’a garden

Somewhere in Da Vinci’s garden, exists that small bridge that you always wanted to see 🙂 Can so imagine myself dressed in a flowy dress with white tiny flowers in soft wavy hair and running across the bridge… thank goodness you don’t know my address to send hate mails or a sniper 😛

All this and a bunch of kids enjoying their mid-picnic meal made me extremely hungry so on my way back to the station I stopped at a lovely little cafe which had bacon omelette on their menu 😀 And that my friends made the day trip come to a PERFECT end.

Oui! Meal for one please 🙂 Garnie – Omelette with tomatoes, diced bacon, mushrooms and onions with hot chocolate at Anne de Bretagne restaurant at Amboise, a small village where Da Vinci lived …

My suggestion to you, travel to places which the locals suggest, travel to places which are not known just for one of the Wonders of the World.

Find your own wonderful world…

Cheers!

The Giggler

Thanks once again Emilien, Bhooshan & Niyanta 🙂

All the pictures were taken by me so don’t use them without giving credit. Pliss 😛

Since childhood you’ve been told not to talk to strangers, but as you grow old, why is it so that a lot of times you find it easier to have a deep conversation with a stranger? Things that you tell just yourself may be.

Why do people find it comforting to get out of their comfort zone and feel free to have a friendly chat with someone who you can’t call a friend… yet?

More and more people find it difficult to tell their loved ones what actually goes inside their head. There is a shell that has been created, a safe haven which we find difficult to leave, open to the people it would be easiest with, the ones near you. Is it because of a black hole being created at the centre of the being which you wouldn’t want the precious ones to get sucked up in? But this Black Hole needs to be constantly fed with random or new conversations and connections, otherwise it will suck you up and then you will cease to exist. Or people won’t be able to notice your presence because you will exist inside that hole which can’t give or take anything.

It is almost like we are giving a performance to someone who didn’t know you till now and chances are they might never come to know you. You blurt out all your thoughts to them and become that interesting character who the other person is listening to so intently. But we are afraid to say the same things to someone who might actually have peeled down those layers much before and sees you as you.

We want to be stronger than everyone else or atleast appear to be so. Someone who can’t be broken down by anything or anyone, physically, mentally, emotionally. And it is fun adn simple to do with people who don’t know you much.

But … who has the power to influence you the most? – The ones you care for or vice versa. And who is the easiest for us to push away? – The ones close to you. Because somewhere you know that this is momentary, they won’t leave you, you can ignore them but there will still be that chance of them coming back. So it’s a win-win for you.

This journey not just takes you away from them, somewhere you drift away from yourself too. At times, these people define you & who you are. This time when you are drifting away, finding comfort in strangers, making friends on social media or networking your way to forming those infinite short-lived connections, you seem to be much more stronger & focussed to yourself. But will you survive in the long run? After all, wasn’t all this for the age old mantra – ‘Survival of the fittest’

Won’t you want this feeling of strength to last longer? Start with the courage to talk your heart out… Walk on your road of yellow bricks.

“If you think adventure is dangerous,

try routine, it is lethal” – Paulo Coelho

This is a short story of a simple personal adventure…

Every year atleast twice I get this itch to go on a vacation and I start prodding my friend to help me plot our next expedition. And Jan’15 was no different. I kept harassing her to close down on one place and plan everything, yes I am that lazy and yet proudly pestering.

Then one fine day she called and said she has a conference coming up in Reims, France and I can come along too but it will be just for 3 days. Hmmm… France + trip + just 3 days didn’t seem to add up well, so next came the suggestion “Why don’t you travel alone and go see Paris and nearby villages/ towns on your own for 6 days before reaching Reims?” My reply – “aaaa whaaa?!” ” OF COURSE I won’t travel alone! What if I got bored with myself?”

Yes, Yes even though I know that I am pretty awesome but still that came out of my mouth, may be I was afraid of going to Paris alone because you’ve heard all these mugging stories or because this was something I had never done before, out of my comfort zone like WAY OUT OF MY LEAGUE o_O. A lot of people said that it will be foolish to go all the way to France and visit just a few small towns here and there. But if my life had background tracks, then this would have been playing then ” hai apna dil to aware, na jane kis pe aayega” and so it began – 10 days 1 big city & 3 small towns/ villages in France 🙂

Whatever thought went behind my decision but yes I borrowed a Lonely Planet, downloaded offline maps for Paris, Reims, Amboise & Strabourg , Paris subway app with routes/ train durations/ schedule, found a friend’s friend staying at Paris, booked my first hostel experience, got all my required belongings under 12kgs packed in a backpack, put on my first pair of colourful gum boots and off i went Woot Woot!

So here is your small little pictorial tour to a small part of France – Paris, the city of love 🙂 On the way you might also realise the level of happiness you can get while traveling solo :

DAY 1 of figuring out life in Paris

Landed. Checked in at my hostel – St. Christopher’s Inn, Gare Du Nord. Bang on the subway/ train station of Gare Du Nord. Dumped my luggage under my bunk bed and started walking with Emilien, the friend recently introduced by my other friend.

The first morning walk and sunshine 🙂 which took a lot of internal cajoling …

A freak road cabaret/ play right opposite that beautiful bridge. All I needed to get comfortable in a new place freezing at 6 degrees with a cup of coffee in my hands , which I had stopped feeling by now !

The first bite of salted caramel crepes at Arc de Triomphe Paris and I have not been able to recover from that mind blowing taste till now!

You might not enjoy the touristy vibe around the place but the sheer liveliness of these sculptures draw you in – at Arc De Triomphe

While I was trying to fit that pillar and me in a selfie, Emilien who was helping me get acquainted with the streets and subways, was trying to tell me quaint little stories about these places.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a 1.9 kilometres long and 70 metres wide street full of tempting sinful luxury brands. So even I went on a budget shopping and dragged poor Emilien along for buying warm leggings 😛 By god it is difficult to survive in Paris in the month of Feb without one of these! Yeah yeah, I am that Indian who went to one of the most expensive shopping streets of the fashion capital of the world and bought stuff on sale! Took a pic too, SUE ME!

Next stop – Mosquée De Paris – The tea room inside the mosque is filled with humdrum of the flowing crowd, people chit-chatting, uncountable rounds of mint tea, sweet pastries in blue tiled rooms and big golden tray tables

Till now, I had gotten acquainted with the dos & don’ts of subway, buses & street walking in Paris. And so my tired half-dead body was dragged to the place of Resurrection – La Rhumerie. aka The Rum House

Yes! I like Paris at night way more than in the daylight 😀 specially when I am at a place called the ‘Rum House’.

And that is how Day 1 ended for me 🙂

Day 2 of everything colourful & vibrant on streets

This was by far the best day of my trip – Flea Market, street art, Salvador Dali and Jim Morrison – all in one!

By now I had realised that subway will become a part of my life in Paris, so every morning started with plotting stations nearest to my planned spots of the day but if the places are close to 3-5 kms apart then of course WALK, because there is no other way to know a place better than talking with people while walking on the streets and eating the local food 🙂

You turn my world (Duniya) upside down ! a small light projection of ‘DUNIYA’ written in Hindi on the ceiling of some random subway station in Paris. I was falling in love already 🙂

From antique furniture to Cartier watches to beautiful paintings to old comic books to dresses from the bygone era on quite an expressive bunch of mannequins to beautiful brooches and an alien spaceship bang in the middle of this world of flea market.

All the time I was at Marché aux Puces and when I was walking towards my next stop – Montmartre, the artists’ village , this big grin won’t leave my face 😀 Guess others noticed it, may be that’s why I received friendly hellos & smiles on the way 🙂 I was getting comfortable…

Somewhere on the way, naak mein dum! Told ya – Walking is fun!

3 kms from the Paris Flea Market is Montmartre, a village on the hill where Salvador Dali and many other artists used to stay and it still has that corner with street artists painting live portraits and showcasing their splendid work.

An artist and his self portraits on the streets of Montmatre. Or is it a painting in itself?! So many colors , so much of life , so much to do , so little time …

Don’t forget to grab your lunch on the way and drift towards museum of Dali’s subliminal work …

The thing I loved about museums in France is that every piece has a story and they won’t shy away from telling you that story with the same passion over and over again through texts, through voice, through sound or just visually.

At the Espace Dali museum – Galipette – a work of light cinematography in an unending mirror inspired by the turbulent relationship between Dali and Gala. It represents the positive energy and strength created by the loving bond. The lovers reflect one another to infinity. (Part of the Description as mentioned at the gallery)

And after dreaming about owning a beautiful tiny house with a balcony covered by viny creeper plants and a small little red coloured cafe down the street stairs (sigh…) I walked back towards the subway station to get to my next stop – Père Lachaise Cemetery and meet my beloved James Douglas Morrison aka Jim Morrison.

Like a blue eyed man standing at the Center of the city, looking over everything and nothing … Even this grey winter afternoon made me happy 🙂 – while walking from Montmartre

From Clignancourt take the subway to Pigalle station and you arrive at the largest Paris cemetery – Père Lachaise Cemetery

And I met him…

The best way to explore this place is by knowing which all out of the hundreds of tombstones/ graves would you want to visit and start putting them on the pre-downloaded offline city map.

My hostel’s common bar area at night, with live band and the solo travellers’ table where I got invited to sit, chat and drink 😉

Day 3 of Shakespeare & Love Cruise

Started off on the day’s first subway journey to St. Michel station to visit Notre Dame but after disembarking from the train so quick was my decision to go towards Shakespeare & Company bookstore that I felt dizzy with joy (floating in the clouds, visualising ‘Before Sunset‘ ♥♥)

That warm overwhelming feeling you get while visiting a place you have been wishing to … for long … Stuff that dreams, stories, fairy tales are made of … Shakespeare and company bookstore. Past meets present to make future…

With my content filled heart I did visit Notre Dame but it didn’t give me the same exhilarating feeling as did this bookstore 🙂

So I walked a few kms in search of the next best thing to books – FOOD! Suggested by a friend of mine who spent quite a few years in Paris, I headed towards Berthillon, supposedly the best ice cream/ sorbet in the world at Ile Saint-Louis island.

If it deserves to be eaten then I shall eat it! Even if it means having an ice cream on a day recording 3degrees temperature. Berthillon at St. Louis island . My bad luck, the original shop was closed but this one said they ‘sell the Berthillon produce’ . Ohh yea and salted caramel is officially my favourite flavour 😀 It was quite a treat to just take a stroll around the island itself…

Love lock bridges made me feel love lost… These symbolic bridges are being treated as vandalism by the Paris municipal authorities and the ritual might come to an end very soon.

During the river cruise in Siene, the guide said “we will be passing under the bridge of love now. Make a wish and kiss… And blah…” They have a bridge of love too?!! how much love is there in this city?

And so this day came to an end too.

This day I gave more time to chit-chatting with other solo travellers back at the hostel while gorging on to a huge plate of FOOD called the ressurection 😀 fried eggs on top of roasted roll with bacon (bliss), sausages, mushrooms, baked beans and hash potatoes … Of course some rum and coke to end the long day … Somehow my appetite improved a lot on this trip

Last day in Paris : Day 4 of Louvre stories

Subway to Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre, a pre-bought pass and a sneak away non-crowded entry to Louvre B-) Thanks to Emilien again for showing me the cheat path to avoid standing in line for 2 hrs atleast!

It is said that you need around 3 days to walk through and see Louvre Museum, so don’t forget to again mark what all you want to see there and listen to each and every story behind that piece of art. Get involved, get to know it, live those moments.

Greek goddess ,Nike (winged Victory) – This sculpture took my breath away for it’s sheer grandeur and was a bit intimidating at the same time…

Psyche revived by Cupid’s kiss – Venus, the goddess of beauty was jealous of Psyche and asked her son Cupid to enamour Psyche and then leave her. Later Psyche was made to go through a lot of ordeals to be reunited with Cupid and during one such, she was asked by Venus to get a jar from the underworld but not to open it. But Psyche, out of curiosity, opened the jar and fell into a deathly sleep. To be woken up by Cupid by the touch of his arrow and a kiss.

A beautiful nymph in pain who was stung by a scorpion and knew that her end was near.

The Death of Sardanapalus – Murder of concubines ordered by the king when he got to know of his military defeat, while he lies in the midst of death.

The Raft of Medusa – Hope & fraught panic of shipwrecked sailors who can see a rescue boat in the distance but can’t catch it.

So ended my trip to Paris, and I took the train to Amboise then Reims and last but the most beautiful little town of more than 5 Michelin Starred Restaurants, Strasbourg.

Hope to give you that nudge to just pack your bags and walk 🙂

What you should know?

Not everyone gets mugged in Paris

People are friendlier than expected here 🙂

Always have a hearty breakfast before starting your day

Keep an offline map of all the planned cities pre-downloaded with you

Stay at some place near a subway station

Always carry enough change for subway tickets

Stand on the right if you are not planning to walk on the escalators

Buy comfortable, light and warm gum boots for all those long walks

Get to know the stories behind everything you see to live the moment

Don’t waste your time visiting the touristy places only, get to know the city even if takes a day or two more

WALK & WALK & WALK & EAT!

P.S. Thanks a tonn Bhooshan, Niyanta & Emilien for everything 🙂

All the pictures were taken by me so don’t use them without giving credit. Pliss 😛

First time i heard this phrase I said to myself “What is wrong with this man? He must be miserable” But I was wrong somewhere. I have come across so many such phrases now that I am utterly confused.

Why is it becoming so difficult to fathom the idea of finding pure happiness from the smallest joys of everyday life or simplest of things around you? Why are we shunning the idea of a hearty laugh and sending an all expenses paid trip open invitation with one-way ticket to displeasure?

Have you noticed people who have stopped laughing to their heart’s content? Sometimes it is done voluntarily. Some even have the fear that ‘if others see that I am too happy then they will think that I am content with what I have and I don’t want to progress in life.’ Any pretence to gloominess is most welcome.

Will you stop yourself from making a face in front of a child to see him/ her laugh just so that others don’t see you act immature? Then you shouldn’t stop yourself from making your inner child happy again.

I listen to people and I hear them too. This phrase got me thinking how everything is right and everything is wrong at the same time, you just need to flip the coin and see…

“ I am unhappy when I am happy”

I was initially confused by the pride with which the speaker uttered these words. There is a glint of happiness that you see in that pride. If being unhappy and dissatisfied makes them happy then there shouldn’t be anything right or wrong about it. For a lot of people, this dissatisfaction is the force majeure that drives them to do wonderful things and yes we are in the wrong to ask them to fake a smile.

So by that logic even “I am happy when I am unhappy” hold true too? (Damn you ghissu brain! Everything can’t be solved. LHS is not always equal to RHS)

Can dissatisfaction be a greater force than joy or elation? But so many studies show that happiness enhances productivity. Or does this work on just a few individuals and not in a group?

Imagine a world where these individuals change, may be you and I will not be proud of them anymore. May be they won’t be able to achieve the pinnacle of success that they can right now by being uncomfortable with status quo.

So let everyone do as they wish to…

There is a lot more to think and feel about , but a few words which always put me at peace:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.

I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.

This is how our hotel in Pattaya welcomed us. Minibar with huge potential 😉 all you need to survive. Priority set hai for heart and body, mind and soul. Ok take the heart out of this equation but this set the context right for us. Just live.

THE mini-bar

In Pattaya you will find these odd looking couples. Calling them odd might be a bit judgemental but they seem different than the regular or standard definition of a pair. Since your eyes and mind wireframe is not attuned to it, hence calling them odd.Should we call them a couple? Do they even want to be called so? Are questions to be thought about as well. Old/ young, Indian/ American/ European/ South East Asian, good/ bad/ ugly looking men with Thai women.

Walking Street, Pattaya

They are happy… They cuddle, talk, dance, kiss, walk. .. They SPEND time together and not just the night because night is always young here.This song ‘it’s my life..’ playing in the background seemed apt then.

Will you or I do this? May be…May be we have done this…May be not…May be not now…May be never. Who knows?

Walking Street, Thailand, Travel, because it is much needed to just be …

And yeahh found Stones, Pub here too but nothing as compared to the one in Indiranagar, Bangalore.

However weird it may sound but the question “What will your tombstone say?” has been a conversation starter with me a lot of times at various bars and pubs. And I’ve somewhat realised the gravitas behind this intriguing thought.

During my recent and the only semi-solo trip, I discovered the French fascination with the folklores of the far from forgotten few – ‘Dead People’ (Fuhh se … focus!) Within 3 days in France I saw so many artistic depictions of omnipresent graves that it took my breath away.

From Leonardo Da Vinci to James Douglas Morrison, I had the pleasure to visit numerous shrines. So much so that I ended up spending one whole day at a cemetery and trust me when I say that it was a day well spent. Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, the first garden cemetery spread across 110 acres should be a must in your Paris itinerary. Here are a few of the beautiful and honourable resting places of the great that you would want to visit while you are in France:

Once home to French Royal Court, this small town called Amboise is just 2hr train journey away from Paris. And here at the scenic Château Royal d’Amboise you can visit Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo Da Vinci at Château Royal d’Amboise

This was Victor Noir. The man who died in a duel just before getting married and hence the bulge. People come to his grave and touch him for fertility. The reason behind the grave looking specially polished at certain few parts.

Victor Noir at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Finally got to meet my love, James Douglas Morrison …

James Douglas Morrison at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Just before sunset I saw this grave of a man with the rose on an iron bed… If only I knew anything about him.

Man with the rose at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Théodore Géricault, famous painter of the ‘Raft of Medusa’ which made me stand in front of it gaping to glory.

Théodore Géricault at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

J. Laffitte the inventor of soldering whose grave is decorated with an anvil and chains.Read it somewhere, an anvil commonly found on the graves of blacksmiths symbolises the creation or forging of the the universe… Here’s to a creator.

J. Laffitte at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

So yes my dear friends, dead or alive you can be an inspiration for someone…

P.S. Taking learnings from the Arnab show and many other breaking news both online and on TV, the title of this blog has a ‘question mark’, ‘name of a country’ and an intriguing word ‘graves’.

P.P.S. The best way to explore Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is by downloading offline maps from Maps.me 🙂 point to point navigation guaranteed!

When someone said that nothing good comes out of anything post midnight, should have listened to them. This is the kind of stuff you get after a past 12 am conversation with friends…

We talk about being independent and the associated high of taking your own decisions, staying away from your family, being on your own as that is the ultimate goal in our lives. To never be dependent on anyone so that you are always prepared for the worst. But Why?

What is so bad about trusting anyone and being dependent on them?

Has this term ‘Independent’ lost its true meaning somewhere on the way? What kind of independence do you seek? Financial, Emotional or Physical

And what are you willing to sacrifice for it?

Once in a while you will realize that your body and mind are demanding the simplest of thing possible for us living in a world where we are surrounded by so many people – a human touch. Or let’s make it simple – You need a hug! A warm, fuzzy, comforting, long, engulfing, selfless, cuddly hug!

How difficult can that be you ask?

You have been staying away from home for so long that you yearn for your own mother’s hug. You have forgotten how it feels like. Since you don’t trust anyone too quickly, it takes too long to get touchy with anyone in general. You never feel comfortable asking for a hug from someone either. The ones you are actually close too might just be living in another town or too busy to meet up at that very moment when you need it the most.

Why is it suddenly so important for us to have our own space? All of us have read the classic statement – ‘Humans are social animals’

Aren’t we supposed to live together?

Are our own egos getting bigger than us?

We boast about the number of friends we have – both online and in whatever is left of our personal lives, but still can’t hug anyone whenever we feel like or hold a hand.